Moises Caicedo shows exactly why he doesn't deserve to be mentioned alongside Man Utd man

Of everything Enzo Maresca has achieved in his short time at Chelsea, one of his notable feats is getting Moises Caicedo to start to live up to his billing as Britain’s most expensive footballer.

Last season, Caicedo was up there with Antony as the Premier League’s biggest waste of money as he struggled to justify . The Ecuador star was not helped that he joined a club in chaos as previous boss Mauricio Pochettino tried, and failed, to instil some order.

Caicedo also missed most of the pre-season before he chose Chelsea over Liverpool and arrived at Stamford Bridge woefully undercooked. He admits his huge fee was a weight on his shoulders as he tried to adapt to his new surroundings.

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This season he has benefited from Maresca’s arrival and the Blues boss has huge belief in the South American. Maresca wants him to anchor Chelsea’s midfield and provide the platform for the likes of Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto to go and play.

Maresca feels he can be one of the Premier League’s best holding midfielders and has handed him a regular starting place alongside Romeo Lavia in the Blues’ engine room.

Caicedo sees his primary role as breaking up opponents’ play and he did this to great affect against United. He won tackle after tackle, especially in the first half at Old Trafford, to protect his backline.

He is leading the way at Chelsea in terms of tackles, blocks and interceptions. But he is also good on the ball as evidenced by his slide-rule pass for Nicolas Jackson against West Ham for one of his two assists this season.

Caicedo was in real nose-bleed territory on the edge of the United box when . What a strike it was and it was only his second goal for Chelsea.

“Since we arrived, Moi is doing fantastic,” said Maresca. “Because the club paid big money, people expect them always to be the best, but the players, they are human beings.

“Moi is improving a lot. We are trying to spend time with him to improve him and Moi is showing how good he is. He needed a little bit more time to adapt because Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and now he is showing how good he is.”

His goal deservedly won him the Player of the Match award and it shows the immense talent he has in his locker. Finally, he looks like the player who was so impressive at Brighton and at 23, he is only going to get better.

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